Shower head



1951' 5. J. PROKOP, sR 3,0 50

SHOWER HEAD Filed May 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

! A TTORNE) Nov. 14, 1961 J. PROKOP, SR

SHOWER HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1958 INVENTOR. STANLEY J.PROKOB 5R.

ATTORNEY a 3,008,650 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 United States Patent Office3,008,650 SHOWER HEAD Stanley J. Prokop, Sr., Denver, Colo., assignor toWalter S. Munson, Aurora, Colo. Filed May 8, 1958, Ser. No. 733,854 6Claims. (Cl. 239--315) This invention relates to spray-producing devicesand, more particularly, to a shower head of the type adapted to receivea water-soluble pellet or the like.

In many areas, the water is quite hard and soap will not lather to theextent required for bathing. If this problem becomes extremelybothersome, any one of several different types of water-softeningdevices may be installed in the waterlines; however, most of these unitsoperate on the ion-exchange principle and are, therefore, quiteexpensive as well as requiring frequent regeneration of the resinscontained therein.

For tub-bathers, this problem is quite easily and inexpensively solvedthrough the use of bath salts which, in effect, are a water-softeningagent although their perfumed qualities are generally better emphasized.Many modern homemakers have largely forsaken the tub bath for a showerand this raises a number of problems insofar as the use of bath salts orother water-softening agents are concerned.

In the past there have been several attempts to provide means forintroducing a water-softener into the water issuing from a shower;however, these devices have met with little commercial success or publicacceptance because of certain disadvantages and problems associated withthe use thereof. For example, many of these units require extensivemodification of the conventional shower plumbing which is expensive andall too often results in an unsightly assembly that is offensive todiscriminating tastes. Others are quite complicated and, therefore,difiicult to operate which militates against their wide-spread use inthe home, especially when the bather must disassemble one or more partsin order to accomplish the introduction of the water-softening agentpreparatory to taking each shower. Some devices are quite expensive andthis places them beyond the reach of many homeowners. Still otherspossess certain inherent structural disadvantages among which are, amarked interference or interruption in the spray issuing from the head,annoying leakage problems, diificulties associated with removing orotherwise disposing of residual materials left in the head, and problemsconnected with controlling the quantity of the water-softening agentdissolved in the water in order to maintain a uniform concentrationthereof during the period when the bather is under the shower.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention toprovide an improved shower head of the type adapted to receive awater-soluble perfumed water-softening pellet or the like.

A second object is to provide a shower head of the type described whichis formed from a transparent plastic that is decorative and enhances theoverall appearance of the shower bath while exposing to the view of thebather a novel tumbling action of the water-softening tablet containedtherein which is suspended in violently agitated bubbling water.

A third object is the provision of a shower head that may be colored tomatch the fixtures or decor of the bath.

A fourth object of the invention is to provide an improved fiapper-typevalve mechanism for use in a shower head that will not leak; yet, opensinstantly to receive the water-softening pellet which 'is placed in thehead by one quick simple movement.

let-receiving type that requires no modification of the conventionalshower plumbing and may be fastened in place ready for use in a matterof minutes or less by unskilled persons. f

Still another object is to provide a shower head which can be readilyremoved or diassembled by the housewife for cleaning should such becomenecessary. I

, Further objects are the provision of a shower head that is extremelysimple to manufacture, install and operate; one that is inexpensive,versatile and decorative; and one that provides for thorough agitationof the water issuing therefrom in a manner to dissolve thewater-softening pellet placed therein at a uniform rate withoutinterfering with the spray produced thereby.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed outspecific-ally hereinafter in connection with the de' scription of thedrawings that follow and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation, portions of which have been indicated indiametrical section, showing the improved pellet-receiving shower headof the present invention attached in place to a conventional shower headfitting on the end of a waterline;

FIGURE 2 is a transversesection taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showingthe construction of the waterpresdsure-operated flapper valveincorporated into the hea FIGURE 3 is a diametrical section showing theannular conical guide element of the flapper valve assembly whichdirects the valve element into closed position on the interal conicalseat thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan view of the guide element of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 showing a slightly modified formof the shower head in diametrical section, the flapper valve assemblybeing mounted in the bell-shaped wall rather than the cap;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURES l and 5 showing a further modifiedshower head in diametrical section, the cap being-detachably connectedto the bell by a threaded connection;

FIGURE 7 is a bottom plan view of the bell of the FIGURE 6 shower headmodification, the cap having been removed therefrom; and

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of the cap after removal thereof from themodified shower head of FIGURE 6.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that the improvedpellet-receiving shower head of the present invention, which has beenindicated in a general way by numeral 10, comprises a bell 12, a cap 14attached to enclose the lower end of the bell and a flapper valveassembly indicated generally by numeral 16 which is operativelymountedin either the bell or cap in a manner that will be described indetail presently. In the preferred embodi: ments of the presentinvention, both the bell and cap are molded from a transparent plasticmaterial of any one of a number of well-known types resistant to watertemperatures of approximately 200 F; Also, if desired, the bell and capmay be colored to match or harmonize with other bathroom fixtures, thetile or wall decor. Of course, these elements of the shower head may befabricated from metal in accordance with conventional practice in theart.

Preferably, the flapper valve assembly 16 which in-' cludes theintegrally formed conical valve seat 18, annular conical guide element20 and valve element 22, are likewise formed from a light-weight andheat-resistant plastic rather than metal. Elements 20 and 22 need not,

: however, be transparent although the valve element 22 Another objectis to provide a shower head of the pelis advantageously formed fromaslightly flexible plastic such as, for example, polyethylene which willdeform under the pressure of the water and thereby conform with the seatto produce a Watertight seal therewith. The integral seat 18 willobviously be molded from the same material as the bell and/or capdepending upon Where the valve assembly is located.

The upper end of the bell 12 is provided with a tubular neck 24 which isexternal-1y threaded to receive collar 26 shown only in FIGURE 1;whereas, the lower end of the bell contains a continuous annular groove28. Cap 14 includes an upturned annular rim 30 adapted to mate with thegroove in the lower end of the bell. The cap also contains a pluralityof spray openings 32 of conventional design for directing the water ontothe bather in a number of small streams. The upper inside surface ofneck 24 on the bell is preferably shaped to form a hemispherical seat 34adapted to receive and form -a water-tight seal with thehollow-spherical extremity of conventional ball fitting 36 which isthreadedly attached to the end of waterline 38 as shown in FIGURE 1.

With particular reference now to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing, it willbe seen that bell 12 is attached to ball fitting 36 for limiteduniversal movement and is held in substantially water-tight contacttherewith by collar 26 threaded onto neck 24. Thus, installation,replacement or removal of shower head is accomplished by merely screwingneck 24 in or out of collar 26. Of course, the same thing may be takencare of by connecting or disconnecting ball fitting 36 to pipe 38 which,in the case of installation, has certain advantages as pipe 38 isusually of standard size while fitting 36 may vary insofar as the balldiameter is concerned.

In this embodiment of the invention the head 14 is permanently attachedto the bell 12 by gluing rim 30 into mating groove 28 with a suitableadhesive. Should it become necessary to clean any sediment from thehead, the bell and cap are removed as a unit from collar 26 so that acloth can be passed in through the open neck. Here, the flapper valveassembly 16 is located in the cap 14 which is moulded to provide acentrally-located pellet receiving opening 40 (FIGURES 6 and 8) sized topass a solid pellet 42 indicated by dotted lines in FIGURE 1. Thesepellets, which form no part of the present invention, are formed fromany one of a number of watersoluble water-softening compounds well knownin the art and which are preferably mixed with an aromatic sub stancedesigned to perfume the water issuing from the shower head. :The sizeand composition of the pellets are determined largely by the timeinterval during which softened water is to be supplied to the bather.

Flapper valve assembly 16 includes an inverted frustoconical seat 18formed around the edge of opening 40 in the cap and the inside ofannular rib 44 that projects upwardly therefrom. Valve element 22comprises a generally cup-shaped member having an invertedfrusto-conical outer surface 46 adapted to mate with seat 18 and form awater-tight seal therewith when closed by water pressure acting thereonfrom inside the head. The upper edge of the valve element 22 is providedwith a radial arm 48 terminating in a transverse cylindrically-shapedretaining member 50, the function of which will be described presently.

In FIGURES 14, inclusive, it will be noted that the remaining part ofthe flapper valve assembly comprises guide element 20 which has thegeneral form of a ring sized to receive annular rib 44 moulded aroundopening 40 in the cap to which it is attached by a suitable adhesive.The upper inside surface 52 of ring 20 is frusto-conical and, althoughof greater diameter, is a continuation of the inverted frusto-conicalvalve seat 18. Ring 20 also includes a downwardly opening notch 54 sizedto pass arm 48 of the valve element but not retaining member 50 thereof.A groove 56 sized to receive arm 48 of the valve element when in openposition is provided in the inside of ring 20 adjoining notch 54therein.

When a pellet 42 is inserted into the shower head 10 through opening 48therein, valve element 22 is pushed upwardly int-o the dotted lineposition of FIGURE 1 which draws arm 48 radially inward until retainingelement 50 engages ring 20 alongside notch 54. Ann 48,

with the valve element open, it recessed into groove 56 on the inside ofthe ring,, as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1. Once the pellet is inplace within the shower head and the fingers removed from within thepelletreceiving opening 40 in the cap, the valve element is free to dropdown; whereupon, the frusto-conical surface 46 thereof engages thesimilar surface 52 on the guide element which cooperates therewith toguide the valve element into closed position on seat 18. As the valveelement slides along the frustoconical surface of ring 20, arm 48 isextended radially from the dotted-line position of FIGURE 1 to thefull-line position of FIGURES l and 2. When the water is turned into thehead, valve element 22 is firmly seated against seat 18 and the pelletis bounced and carried around inside the unit under the influence of theturbulent bubbling Water which presents a most interesting spectacle.

Referring now to the FIGURE 5 modification, it will be seen that theflapper valve assembly 16a has been re located in the bell 12a ratherthan cap 14a. Here, of course, the cap contains only the spray openings32; whereas, the pellets are placed inside the unit through apellet-receiving opening 40a in the bell. Both the bell 12a and cap 14amay be made slightly smaller than in the FIGURE 1 modification due tothe side-mounting of the valve assembly 16a. Annular rib 44a is formedintegral with the wall of the bell and is modified accordingly; however,the remaining elements of the valve assembly 16a remain the same as inFIGURE 1 including the seat 18, valve element 22 and guide element 29except that arm 48a is preferably somewhat shorter than arm 48. In thismodification the valve element 22 is preferably hinged at the top asshown rather than the bottom so that gravity will assist in closing theflapper. Also, the head is preferably located so that the valve assembly16a is on the underside thereof for the same reason and also to permitthe pellet to be inserted easily. This is no problem, however, as thehead is freely rotatable on ball fitting 36.

The further modification of FIGURES 68, inclusive, is substantiallyidentical to that of FIGURES 1 and 2 except for the fact that the cap14b is detachably connected to the bell 1212; but, the flapper valveassembly 16 remains unchanged and, therefore, has not been illustrated.In this embodiment, the annular groove 28b of the bell 12b and the rim39b of cap 14b are provided with mating interrupted threads 58 and 60,respectively. Threads 58 are identical and equiangularly spaced to passthe mating set of threads 60 on the inside of the cap. As illustrated,one-sixth of a turn of the cap relative to the bell will connect ordisconnect these elements. A gasket 62 is preferably used between thecap and bell to form a water-tight seal therebetween. Removal of the cap14b from the bell 12b, of course, enables the head 10b to be cleanedwithout disconnecting it from collar 26 or pipe 38 as would be necessaryin the embodiments of FIGURES l, 2 and 5. It will be apparent that thebellmounted flapper valve assembly 16a of the FIGURE 5 modification canbe used with the detachable head 14b of the FIGURES 6 through 8embodiment.

Having thus described the many uefull and novel features of the severalembodiments of the present invention illustrated herein, it will be seenthat the various useful objects for which it was designed have beenachieved. Even though several modified forms of the invention have beenshown and described in connection with the accompanying drawings, Irealize that further modifications therein may occur to those skilled inthe art within the broad teaching found herein; hence, it is myintention that the scope of protection afforded hereby shall be limitedonly insofar as said limitations are expressly set forth in the appendedclaims that follow.

What is claimed'is:

1. In a wall of a shower head, a water-pressure actuated flapper valveassembly through which pelletized materials which may be inserted intothe shower head by the fingers of an operator, said valve assemblycomprising an opening in the wall in the path of water issuing from theshower head, a flared seat bordering said open ing and a complementaryflapper valve element hingedly connected on the upstream side of theseat for movement between an open position uncovering the opening and aclosed position in continuous contact with said seat, at least one ofsaid seat and flapper elements including a sealing surface deformableunder ordinary water pressure to the extent required to conform withminor irregularities in the other of said sealing surfaces thusproviding a substantially liquid-tight seal therebetween, and saidflapper valve element when in closed position having an external surfacethat is flush with and forms a continuation of the external surface ofthe shower head wall.

2. The water-pressure actuated flapper valve assembly as set forth inclaim 1 in which the complementary sealing surfaces of the seat andflapper element are frusto conical and adapted to engage one another inclosed position to provide continuous annular area contact therebetween.

3. The water-pressure actuated flapper valve assembly as set forth inclaim 1 in which the sealing surface of the flapper element isdeformable under ordinary tap water pressure and the sealing surface ofthe seat is substantially rigid.

4. A water pressure actuated flapper valve assembly as set forth inclaim 1 in which a self-adjusting hinge operatively interconnects theflapper valve element with the seat for swinging movement between openand closed positions and for universal relative movement in closedposition from an unseated into a substantially liquid-tight seatedrelation.

5. The Water-pressure actuated flapper valve assembly as set forth inclaim 4 in which, the seat comprises an annular rib having an openingthrough the wall thereof, the flapper element includes an arm projectingtherefrom which terminates at its free end in a retaining member, thearm being loosely received within the opening in the rib to provide foruniversal relative movement between the seat and flapper in closedposition, and the retaining member cooperating with the rib to engagesame and prevent the flapper from becoming detached from the seat.

6. The water-pressure actuated flapper valve assembly as set forth inclaim 4 in which, the self-adjusting hinge comprises an arm dependingfrom the flapper element and an oversized opening through the seatadapted to loosely receive the arm for relative tiltable, swinging,transverse and longitudinal movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS338,609 Nysewander Mar. 23, 1886 985,174 Hill Feb. 28, 1911 1,154,349Tanaka Sept. 21, 1915 1,399,684 Belcher Dec. 6, 1921 2,028,242 PearlJan. 21, 1936 2,172,592 Podolsky Sept. 12, 1939 2,680,043 Campbell June1, 1954 2,690,930 Corson Oct. 5, 1954 2,746,081 Gershen May 22, 19562,748,411 OBrien June 5, 1956 2,760,819 Thom-as Aug. 28, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 251,269 Switzerland Aug. 2, 1948 780,186 France Jan. 29, 1935

